Foster care is not the solution for providing much needed health care services to the 2 million children suffering from extreme obesity in the US. However, even though I agree with Dr. Ludwig in his recent article published in JAMA that under certain conditions removing an extremely obese child from the home may be a physicians duty and in the best interests of the child, it is, as most experts agree, a very slippery slope.

Helping children learn to wait for rewards is a way to help them keep up a healthy weight. Researchers from the University of Missouri-Kansas City found that BMI was related to child’s ability to wait for a more desirable reward when offered an immediate reward.

A recent study followed 20 San Francisco residents after they agreed to consume only fresh, organic, non-processed, unpackaged food for three days....By eating more fruits and vegetables and less food that is packaged in plastics or metal cans will help you reduce your exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals.

The Gates Foundation and WHO recently funded a group of researchers to conduct worldwide comparative analyses of body mass index (BMI) using national health examination surveys. 199 countries and regions were studied. The trends were surprising.

After the big lobbying efforts to get calories posted on menus, I found it surprising that no one had asked the chefs for their comments. However, some thoughtful researchers decided to survey chefs to learn how they felt about the recent policies for reducing the number of calories on their menus.

Pediatricians are starting to use motivational interviewing techniques when counseling overweight children and their families. Instead of being lectured by your doctor about what you should be doing to help your child eat healthier and be more active, the doctor will ask you a series of questions. The questions will help guide you towards your own solution or plan. This technique works very well with parents who are either resisting change or feel they don’t have enough support to make changes in what their child eats or how much time they spend playing.

At lunch time today, President Obama signed a bill called ‘The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act’ to give schools more money for healthy school lunches. Michelle Obama’s 'Let’s Move Initiative' definitely set the stage for schools to receive $4.5 billion to help fight obesity among schoolchildren.

The statistics on bullying are upsetting. In a recent national survey of overweight sixth graders, 24% of the boys and 30% of the girls experienced daily teasing, bullying, or rejection because of their size. The number doubles for overweight high schoolers with 58% of boys and 63% of girls experiencing daily teasing, bullying or rejection because of their size. Bullying has become epidemic in America.

As the childhood obesity epidemic rises, and the need for safe, effective treatments increases, we must determine the impact of this epidemic on doctor’s decision-making and their ability to respond and care most effectively for extremely obese children.

As you know by now, obesity affects one in three children. And you also know that obesity is a complex disease brought on by a multitude of societal problems. But did you know that physicians, at the front line of this epidemic, most likely lack education in basic nutrition? The very person a parent is most likely to ask questions like: What should I feed my child? or How much should I be feeding my child?

We need to raise clinicians' awareness of the link between obesity and child sexual abuse so that they can respond and care most effectively for these children. And yes, a history of child sexual abuse further complicates the already complex issue of childhood obesity. However, it is important to remember that both are treatable under the care of informed and trained professionals.

Overweight parents who worry about their child’s weight are likely to try to do healthier things like going to farmer’s markets or learning to cook healthier meals. A group of Drexel University researchers studied 114 overweight parents and children and learned that worried parents are ready parents; ready to learn healthier changes and ready to help their child become healthier.

Often overweight children are the victims of bullying and teasing not just in school but sometimes even parents say the wrong thing or tolerate in-home teasing. Dr. Rebecca Puhl of Yale University’s Rudd Food Policy Center has been studying how many overweight children are victims of bullying, what kinds of bullying and teasing they are experiencing and where and when it is happening.

Most doctors are using BMI to screen children for overweight or obesity. So why look for another screening tool? "Because BMI does not adequately describe regional (central) adiposity, other indices of body fatness are being explored," said Dr. Nafiu. When people have large necks they sometimes are more at risk for sleep apnea, diabetes, and hypertension.

Some good news to report from NIH (NIDDK). A few years ago many organizations began piloting childhood obesity interventions to help stop the spread of the epidemic. Many of these pilot studies are now publishing the results.

I just came across a great commentary by Leonard Epstein and Brian Wrotniak entitled: “Future Directions for Pediatric Obesity Treatment,” which was published in Obesity in February 2010. Epstein and Wrotniak are optimistic about the latest childhood obesity treatment research.

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